VE Day 80 Speaker Series: Sonia Purnell – ‘Kingmaker: Pamela Harriman’s Astonishing Life of Power, Seduction, and Intrigue’

Sonia Purnell – Kingmaker: Pamela Harriman’s Astonishing Life of Power, Seduction, and Intrigue

When Pamela Churchill Harriman died in 1997, the obituaries that followed were scathing – and often downright sexist. Written off as a social climber, her glamorous social life and infamous erotic adventures overshadowed her true legacy. Her influence began at age twenty, when her father-in-law, Winston Churchill, engaged her as a “secret weapon” during World War II, wining, dining and seducing Americans over to the British cause against Hitler. Much of what she did behind the scenes to shape the twentieth century, on both sides of the Atlantic, remained invisible. That is, until now: with a wealth of fresh research, Sonia Purnell unveils for the first time the full, spectacular story of how Harriman left an indelible mark on the world today.

2pm – 3pm